“We believe that college football has the greatest regular season in the country, not college basketball . College basketball has the greatest postseason in the country.”

Pardon me, but that’s complete and utter bullshit. Unless you sincerely believe – which I doubt Delany does for a second – that college basketball needs the “greatest postseason” and college football doesn’t. The logic escapes me. The arrogance doesn’t, though.

In fact, it’s enhanced by this:

” College basketball has lost some meaning in the regular season. We do everything we can to make it important, but it is not what it was if you go back 25 years ago.

“Everyone but CBS on the network level has left college basketball . There is one meaningful must-see game in college basketball .”

Look, it’s one thing for me to say that. And I don’t disagree with the comment. But for a guy who has to promote and sell the sport as product to his conference’s fans and to the broadcast outlets who carry it, well, just, damn.

4 responses to “Can somebody tell this man to shut up?”

The basketball tournament is better at creating interest of people who don’t watch the regular season. Think about all the office pools, interest in Cinderellas, single elimination drama. I grew up on Tobacco Road and gravitated to SEC football later. The basketball tournament has some advantages over the bowl season.

There aren’t that many Hobnail Boot moments in football; that’s why they become legendary so quickly. There’s a miracle shot a day in the basketball tournament.

“One meaningful must see game’? Duke-Carolina? Delaney played at UNC, so that’s no surprise.

I understand Blutarsky’s point is that Delaney is dumb for talking down a sport he’s supposed to promote and administer. To give him the benefit of a doubt, maybe he’s just letting an impolitic truth slip out.

As much as I dislike Delany, what he stands for, and how he has led the opposition to a CFB playoff, he is no dummy. His scare tactic against a football playoff protects his Big 10/11 from being exposed and insures the cash will keep rolling in. No other conference has ever gotten so many undeserved awards, titles, and major bowl invites over the past dozen years.

Remember just three years ago when “the game of the century” between Ohio State and Michigan almost led to a rematch in the BCS title game? No one else was considered worthy. OSU was deemed by many to be “perhaps the best team evah” in CFB history. Just because they went through the “rugged” Big 10/11 schedule unbeaten and barely edged Meechigan at the end of the year. Naturally both teams got crushed in BCS games while Delany went to the bank and made a big deposit. Florida struggled in every SEC game they played that year and let the scrubs finish off the “best team evah”. I cannot remember the last time I thought a Big 10/11 team was the best in the land….maybe 30 years ago before other conferences began passing the ball.

All this is to say, the big money comes in from CFB and Delany will protect that from changing by blocking any attempt at a playoff. He makes his basketball money from the tourney, and his football money by standing in the way of a tourney. Nothing confusing about it. He is all about what is good for him, and has no concern about what is good for the sport. Some people like that; I think he is a Mayor Daley style bully. He is in the all-time Top 5 of the people I have ever disliked in CFB.